The Big Four -- Numbers to Watch
 We are about halfway through the year and 2006 is shaping up to be another successful year for the Transmission Group. Even with the challenges we’ve already faced this year, virtually every key performance indicator is at, or above, target level. Congratulations and thank you for doing your part to help us achieve this level of success.
While we will continue to track our progress by closely watching our mile markers and KPIs, there are four sets of challenging numbers that will ultimately define our success:
● 00
● < $350 million
● $454.5 million
● > $50.7 million
Let me take a moment to highlight each of them.
00 = No OSHA Recordable Incidents and No Preventable Motor Vehicle Accidents
Double zeros is not just an indicator of a top-performing secret agent (007), it also signifies excellence in safety. While our safety indicators have stayed at zero, we have had some “near misses.” To keep our excellent record intact, we will be conducting a safety assessment later this summer. In addition, we will implement a human performance program designed to help us eliminate human errors. Our ultimate goal remains -- having each and every employee return home each day as the same, whole person they were when they left for work.
< $350 million = getting the Bethel to Norwalk project built under budget and ahead of schedule
At this point, the Bethel to Norwalk project is more than 85 percent complete. While it appears that we are in good shape to get the line completed and into service by our target date of November 30, 2006, weather and other obstacles remain. Timely completion of this line is vital to Connecticut, as it will improve reliability and should reduce congestion charges by about $100 million. I have the utmost confidence that Laurie Aylsworth and her team will successfully face any challenge to meet our goal.
$454.5 million = successfully executing our capital expenditure plan
This is an unprecedented level of investment in NU’s transmission infrastructure, so we must work to ensure it delivers the greatest possible value for customers and shareholders. Improving reliability for electric customers in our three-state territory by advancing projects outlined in ISO New England's Regional System Plan is the reason we are investing at this level. Execution is the key to our success with this set of numbers -- through May we’ve spent $154 million versus our budget of $162 million. Getting our projects done on time and on budget will benefit customers. Our capacitor and other projects in New Hampshire and Massachusetts will not only improve reliability, but are helping customers avoid Reliability Must Run (RMR) charges for power plants that are no longer economical to run. Our southwest Connecticut projects including Bethel to Norwalk and Middletown to Norwalk will have the same positive impact for Connecticut customers.
> $50.7 million = our net income target
Getting our projects into service in a timely manner is critical to our ability to meet and exceed this goal. As we invest NU shareholders’ money in infrastructure enhancements, they don’t earn a return on their investment until the project is put into service. The investment community expects us to perform at this level. When we achieve these earnings, it will be a validation of the Transmission Group’s strategy and operating plan -- enhancing NU’s credibility. By delivering on promised earnings, it will make it easier for NU to attract new capital for future projects at a good price.
How are we doing?
As they say, “So far, so good.” However, as the year progresses, new and unexpected challenges are sure to emerge. By continuing to work together as a high-performing team to identify and implement solutions, we will be able to address any obstacle that may impede our progress. By doing that, we will continue to deliver results that benefit each of us, our company and our customers.
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Safety Pulse Assessment
Going home safely every day is the most important thing you can do. The Transmission Group has an excellent safety record year-to-date, with zero recordable injuries, and zero Preventable Motor Vehicle Accidents (PMVAs). However, due to a series of near-misses, and the need to continually improve our safety culture, the Transmission Group is currently undergoing a Safety Pulse Assessment. All Transmission Group employees should have received the survey by now, either in electronic format or hard copy format. Please complete the survey, and contact Sean Martin with any questions (708-6664).|
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Middletown/Norwalk
Bond Brothers, Inc., of Everett, MA, signed a contract to be the project’s civil contractor for CL&P’s portion of the 24-mile underground transmission work from Milford to Norwalk. Bond is expected to break ground on M/N’s underground work in July in Fairfield and Bridgeport. Under the contract, Bond will be responsible for constructing all underground duct banks and vaults. Most recently, Bond served as lead contractor for NSTAR’s 345-kV underground high-pressure, fluid-filled (HPFF) cable project in the Boston area. This 18-mile transmission line is NSTAR’s largest project in the past 30 years.
Contractors are expected to begin work at the Scovill Rock switching station in Middletown in July.
Crews continue working on the seven-acre Beseck switching station site this month. They are expected to continue site work through the year, with foundation work to begin next spring. Work on the retaining wall and front plantings will begin in early July.
The Connecticut Siting Council recently approved Development and Management (D&M) plans for overhead lines in Cheshire and Wallingford (Segment 2a) and rejected a D&M plan for the Royal Oaks Bypass (Segment 1b) between Durham and Middletown. D&M plans for the overhead lines from Hamden to Milford (Segment 2b) and the revised Royal Oak Bypass (Segment 1b) were filed with the Council in June.
Bethel/Norwalk
 Crews began installing the 345-kV overhead line conductor from Bethel to Redding. The 27,000-foot overhead line, which connects transition stations on Archers Lane in Redding to Hoyts Hill Road in Bethel, will be completed by the end of June.
Installation of conduit for the 2.1 miles of 345-kV cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) cable in Bethel continues and is scheduled to be completed in July. Once complete, the line will connect Plumtree substation with the Hoyts Hill transition station.
Reactors for the transition stations are scheduled to arrive by the end of June by rail. They will be unloaded at the rail siding in Danbury before being delivered to the respective station.
In the photo above, crews feed out a new 345-kV line in Redding. This pull is about 9,000 feet long from a point on the overhead right of way to the Archers Lane transition station.
Northeast Connecticut Reliability (NECTR) Project
The construction activities for the new Killingly substation at the site near Park Road are progressing on schedule for commissioning of the facility by the end of the year.
The first of two autotransformers has been shipped by rail from its Canadian manufacturer. It will be unloaded from its rail car on a siding near the site on the Killingly-Putnam town line. The autotransformer is expected to arrive at the site in July.
Other activities include:
• Erection of control enclosure;
• Construction of 345-kV steel transmission structures (now in service); and
• Installation of autotransformer pads, fire barriers and oil containment system.
Glenbrook Cable Project
D&M plans were filed with the Connecticut Siting Council in June for the southern section of the project. D&M plans for the northern section will be filed in late June. Construction is scheduled to start in the fall.
Barbour Hill Substation
CL&P will submit a petition to the Connecticut Siting Council in July to modify the CL&P substation in South Windsor and interconnect it to the 345-kV transmission system. The South Windsor Inland Wetland Agency and Planning and Zoning Commission each unanimously approved the location plan in April and May respectively.
Manchester/Hopewell 115-kV Reconductor Project
Revised plans to reconductor an existing 115-kV transmission line from Manchester to Glastonbury were aired in June at a public hearing in Glastonbury. The petition received very little interest from the public. The Connecticut Siting Council is expected to approve the project later this summer.
Long Island Replacement Cable (LIRC)
On June 12, the Transmission Group finalized and executed a $94 million Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for the LIRC project. The contract, entered into between NUSCO, on behalf of CL&P and LIPA, and Nexans Norway AS, includes design and manufacture of the new LIRC cables, removal of the existing cable system, and installation and termination of the new cables. The contract is currently undergoing review by the NY Office of the State Comptroller (a LIPA requirement) and is expected to receive approval in August. Cable manufacturing will commence shortly thereafter, and site work will begin in October of 2007. The first two of the three new cables are scheduled to be in-service by April 2008, with total project completion by November 2008.|
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Cycling for the Cure: TG employees in the community
 Team NU –- 18 cyclists from the Transmission Group, friends from across the NU family and spouses –- raised more than $10,500 for the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society by riding in the 25th annual MS Tour for the Cure on June 4. The diverse group of NU riders cycled over courses of 25 and 50 miles in north central Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Lee Olivier committed $2,500 to the MS Society from the Transmission Group, matching Team NU’s original fundraising goal of $2,500. “People opened up their hearts and wallets,” said team captain Einat Dorobantzu, an associate engineer working in Transmission Projects. “And we blew right by that goal.”
Participating in the tour was a natural for Einat and her husband Victor, who are both cyclists. Three months before the tour, Einat spread the word to co-workers sitting near her cubicle, and by April, the group had nine riders signed up.
Einat was surprised by how fast NU’s riders and donors responded to the challenge. “So many people were interested and excited about joining the tour,” she said. By the day of the event, the riding group doubled in size, with more than twice the amount of donations originally expected.
On June 4, tour day, Team NU wore shirts designed and donated by the Transmission Group and Corporate Communications. A light rain at the start of the 50-mile tour did not dampen the spirits of the riders and even a flat tire did not stop Kari O’Connor, from NU’s WellAware program, from finishing.
The team’s broad range of ages, genders and backgrounds helped make the day enjoyable. All NU riders completed their assigned routes and through their efforts supported a worthy cause.|
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Look for second quarter 2006 Transmission Incentive Plan (TIP) results in late July
Transmission Net Income, one of our Financial Performance goals, is reported on a quarterly basis. Net Income is sometimes called the bottom line, earnings or net profit. Our Net Income target for the six months ended June 30, 2006, is $20.8 million. Look for our actual results in late July.|
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These employees are new to Transmission as of May 2006:
Gerald Crenella -- Sr. Engineering Technician -- 3333
Richard L. Oswald -- Sr. Engineer -- Berlin|
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Woodland & Pleasant Capacitor Bank projects now in service
Just two weeks ago, NU completed the second of two major projects for the installation of capacitor banks at the Woodland Road and Pleasant Street substations in Lee, Massachusetts.
These capacitors help prevent voltage emergency conditions on the transmission system and minimize financial impact on WMECO customers from local generation congestion costs. This installation also addresses reliability criteria for acceptable voltages. One of the project goals was to put the banks in service before the 2006 peak summer load period.
Project challenges
 Permits and winter weather were just two of the challenges facing this Transmission Projects Group team. Substation expansions were needed to accommodate the new pieces of equipment at both substations; and zoning laws required special permits at both sites to be obtained before construction could begin.
Many other unanticipated delays prevented early construction start dates, including the late delivery of vendor drawings -- affecting internal engineering design -- as well as delays in material shipment.
The Pleasant substation was also located in a flood plain on the banks of the Housatonic River, and the new expansion would displace about 39,000 cubic feet of flood storage. This required additional construction and approvals of compensatory storage ponds as part of the project’s civil work before construction could begin. An easement release and land acquisition were also needed.
Other challenges included the Massachusetts DEP’s Endangered Species program and its 30-day review period. The DEP identified a fish called the Longnose Sucker as a species of “Special Concern.” This required alterations of the riverfront area as part of the project.
Successful completion
 Although construction began in the middle of winter, hampering the outside yard construction, dedication from all project team members, contractors and WMECO construction and test personnel helped obtain an in-service date for the Woodland capacitor banks on May 31. The Pleasant capacitor banks’ in-service date was June 14 (46 days ahead of schedule).
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